Naples, Is Getting So Expensive That City Workers Can’t Afford It

According to those slick websites that rate the best US cities to live in or retire in, Naples on Florida’s Gulf Coast is paradise. However, its hospitals, restaurants, and city government employees tell a different tale. Most of them can’t afford Naples, but they want to.

The city of 19,000 has the second-richest US ZIP code after Miami Beach. According to the Census Bureau, median family income in 2021 was $125,000, compared to $62,000 in Florida. The National Apartment Association’s 2022 least affordable tenant list included Naples.

90% of city workers live outside Naples due to a housing shortage. Unfilled positions cause chronic staffing gaps. One local advocate says Collier County, which includes Naples, is dangerously short of firefighters, police officers, and other critical workers. Private employers temporarily turned a hotel into apartments for workers.

According to a recent article in Bloomberg.com last year’s city manager Jay Boodheshwar believes “we’re at critical mass.” Boodheshwar, who earns $270,000, stays outside Naples because he couldn’t find a comparable home to his West Palm Beach home.Naples, once a sleepy fishing town, is emblematic of national wealth shifts, with Florida benefiting. Millionaires have moved to Sun Belt towns since 2020 for lower taxes, better weather, and laxer COVID-19 pandemic rules. Some have Naples’ issues. In December, Realty Hop named Miami the least affordable home market in the US. Austin, a tech hub, lacks cheap and non-affordable homes. Lack of public transit causes traffic congestion in both.The epidemic boosted luxury home sales in Naples. According to Attom, a property data provider, median sale prices rose almost 30% in 2022 from 2021, more than any other major metro area in Florida. According to the Naples Area Board of Realtors, the typical home closing price in December was $1.1 million, up 13% from a year earlier.

In September, Hurricane Ian, a category 4 storm, damaged thousands of homes in the city, worsening its housing issues. Naples isn’t deterred by severe weather. A $100 million high school will open in the fall to relieve overcrowding at a school with 600 more pupils than intended. The Athens Group, a developer, and MSD Partners, formed by Michael Dell family office executives, are redeveloping a beachside resort into a Four Seasons hotel and luxury residential community that will open in 2024. Wine and eatery clubs are opening.

Staff turnover plagues the city authority. A 510-person team has 60 openings. Nearly 25% of county sheriff’s office workers live outside Collier County. One firefighter from Miami travels two hours for a 24-hour shift, according to Boodheshwar.

Employers have had to get clever to address housing. According to Shawn McConnell, a spokesperson for NCH Healthcare System, which employs 4,500 people, 20 Super 8 hotel rooms are available for workforce lodging. NCH has also rented Naples second homes to doctors and nurses.

Housing fixes are expensive and divided. The five-member Collier County commissioners fired Joe Trachtenberg, a local housing expert, late last month. Trachtenberg, who retired to Naples from New Jersey in 2004 as CEO of an industrial manufacturing firm, wants Collier County to rewrite zoning laws limiting housing density and building heights to allow more construction. He claims county leaders “love” higher property values and oppose rule changes. Emergency workers’ extra “borders on unsafe,” Trachtenberg says. “If we can’t hire cops, firemen, and EMTs, that’s going to impact.”County board member Chris Hall says Trachtenberg was too focused on talking about the issue rather than proposing solutions. Since 2019, the county has added 2,443 affordable homes through private sector partnerships, Hall says. Local experts say the county needs 10,000 such units.

Since Naples is right off Interstate 75, which goes to Michigan, Vincenzo Betulia, a local chef who runs several upscale restaurants, says “Midwest money” has always lived there. He says those residents are less flashy, hiding their riches. “They drive Camrys.”New York, New Jersey, and California residents are making Naples more opulent. A beachfront house was listed for $88 million in February, less than a year after selling for $62 million, a county record.

Huntington Private Bank senior portfolio manager Tom Kluttz went to Naples from Columbus, Ohio, to “follow the money.” He says his clients had long talked about moving to Florida, and the pandemic prompted many to do so. His family joined seven months ago. “It’s everything and more,” Kluttz adds. He complains that his 14-mile daily commute can take an hour.

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